


Forcing Space

by ShalaGurl



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-12-15 22:59:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11815965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShalaGurl/pseuds/ShalaGurl
Summary: Allura tries to hide from a nightmare and her own feelings.





	Forcing Space

She watched the burning of Altea. She watched her people screaming in agony. She watched as the Galra sentry bots marched on and swarmed the innocent civilians. They weren’t soldiers. This was not a battle, this was a massacre. She tried to reason with her father, tried to get him to unleash the lions on the Galra fleet. She tried to warn him that if they didn’t fight back with Voltron now, all would be lost. They would lose Altea, they would lose each other. The universe would lose. But soon she couldn’t speak. She couldn’t move. It was like she was stuck in a coma, trapped in a glass box. The cyropod. It was holding her back, it was limiting her movements, keeping her from fighting, from helping her father, from protecting her people. She needed to get out. She couldn’t break the glass. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound escaped her. It was getting hard to breath- 

Allura’s eyes snapped open and she stared up into the starry sky. There was plenty of fresh air. She could move her limbs, shaky as they were. She pushed herself up into a sitting position. Besides her Coran was asleep on a hovering ‘tube’ the paladins called it. If she had made any noise in her sleep it would have been blocked out by the headphones he wore on his head, and for that she was grateful. Not too far from her Hunk was snoring loudly on his back while Lance and Pidge slept on either side of him using him as a pillow. Pidge still had her laptop on making a low hum of noise that didn’t seem into disturb her slumber anymore than Hunk’s snoring. 

On the other side of Coran, Shiro lay sleeping soundlessly. He was so still and quiet that earlier in the night Allura had embarrassingly checked to see if he was breathing. His response of ‘staring at me is making it very hard to focus on sleep’ caused her to retreat to the other side of Coran. She swore she heard him chuckling at her expense making her facial markings glow. Keith sat nearby Shiro leaning against a rock legs and arms folded tight. She wondered how he could stay comfortable like that. 

Allura took a deep sigh, stood up, and headed towards the pod they had arrived on. Sitting towards the back of the cockpit. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her arms on her legs. Every time Allura closed her eyes she saw flashes of fire, her father’s face fading, she lifted her head again. The door opened and Shiro stepped in.

“Princess?” 

“Shiro! Apologies, I didn’t mean to wake anyone up.” He sat beside her and her guilt mounted. Shiro always took it upon himself to look after everyone on the team, but she wasn’t supposed to need looking after. She was supposed to portray strength, he was supposed to be relaxing on the beach sleeping. “Did you need something?”

“Not really, just bored laying on the beach, wondering what made you get up and leave.” Straight to the point as always.

“I slept long enough. Altean’s don’t need as much sleep as Earthling’s.” That was not a full lie. Shiro didn’t believe her, but didn’t call her out on it either.

“Thank’s for this by the way.” She looked at him confused. “I know Lance can’t convince you to do anything you don’t want to do, but you let them have a beach day. They needed it.” Allura shrugged, a gesture she picked up from the paladins.

“You did’t seem to keen on it either when Lance suggested it. What changed your mind?”

“Pidge. She gave me the face, I can’t say no too the face. And I just told you my greatest weakness.” He smiled at her.

“I won’t use it against you. Unless we go back to the swap moons.” The slight pink tint that she thought she saw in his cheeks as he laughed must have been her imagination, it wasn’t bright in the cockpit.

“Lance said he used to surf all the time on Earth.” He scratched the back of his neck and looked away. 

“He did mention it a few times. I’m no closer to figuring out what surfing actually is.” 

“Well it’s sort of like riding the ocean waves on a board.” She stared at him confused. Shiro started up a description of surfing and other water-riding activities to her. She was losing focus. That was something about Shiro she didn’t fully like. He could make her lose focus, let her guard down. It was becoming easier the more she got to know him. The sound of his voice, the feeling of just being in his presence. It was comforting. It reminded her of home. 

She wasn’t sure when she had fallen asleep again. She was sitting in the Juniberry field next to her father, resting against his shoulder. Until she wasn’t. Now she was sitting at the dining table across from King Zarkon and Queen Honerva. That was strange. Honerva never left Daibazaal for her work. It was usually Zarkon and Sincline, who wasn’t here. Where was he? What was going on? Suddenly Honerva’s hands shot out and blasted lighting at Allura. It was taking control of her. Making her stand and grab her father tightly around the middle.

“Don’t do this!” Her father cried. She squeezed tighter. His appearance became distorted. Cracks spread across his image. She was breaking him apart and there was nothing she could do to stop herself. She watched as her father shattered to pieces. Again. Because of her. Because she wasn’t strong enough.

Her eyes snapped open and she jerked but someone was holding her close to them.  
“Allura, you’re okay, it’s okay, I got you!” Shiro had his arms wrapped tightly around her. She was shaking and breathing heavy. He rubbed circles on her back. He continued telling that he was there for her and everything was okay. But it wasn’t. She slipped up. She let her guard down around him again, and this time he saw her break.

He didn’t force her to stay in his hold when she moved to stand away from him. He tried to talk to her about her nightmare, but didn’t force it when she made it clear she wasn’t interested in talking about it. She sat in the passenger seat of the pod and pulled up a screen to plan their next mission.

“I’m fine Shiro. Please head back to the beach and get some rest. The sun will be up soon.” She didn’t look back at him. Only listened as he stepped back from her. He didn’t try to force his way into her space.

“As you wish Princess.” He didn’t sound angry. She listened as the doors to the cockpit opened and closed. She tried not to watch him from the front window of the pod as he walked back to his spot on the beach. It looked like Keith raised his head to say something to him. Allura turned her attention back to the screen. They should leave at first light. She thought back to Shiro, how he tried to help her relax earlier that day, how he tried to help her not two doboshes ago. 

It would be cruel not to let them sleep in, just for one day.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think. I might add more later.


End file.
